July 2013

I’m sitting in the quaint “Handlebars Saloon” in Silverton, Colorado, with a pint of “Handlebar Amber” in front of me, tired muscles, sore feet, and waiting for my green chile cheeseburger. It’s a great way to cap a great day.

It’s my anniversary, of sorts. Twenty-five years ago this month, my first novel was published, Resurrection, Inc., a paperback original from Signet Books. Since then, I’ve had over 120 novels published, 23 million copies in print, but nothing could match the excitement of that first acceptance.

We’ve been going to San Diego Comic Con for close to twenty years now, and it’s always a whirlwind of sights and sounds, friends, celebrities, crowds, freebies, costumes, crowds, and more crowds. In short, a madhouse, but in a good way. Since the San Diego Convention Center is filled with pros and fans, I called it a “sea of ProFanity.” And did I mention the crowds?

I just opened the front door and found a package on the porch—at last my copies of the new WordFire Press reissue of my novel HOPSCOTCH. This is one of my favorite novels, out of print for many years, although WordFire made it available as an eBook last year. Now, those of you who prefer bound and printed editions can get your own copies.

It’s a hot topic among authors, many of them scrambling to put up as many of their titles as possible as ebooks. Many established authors can see the tide changing and feel the urgency, and they are climbing the learning curve as fast as possible.

For my generation of writers, those who started publishing books before the mid-1990s, we’re in the perfect eBook “sweet spot.” We have a lot of backlist titles, and we control the electronic rights for most or all of them.

In 1898, H.G. Wells wrote his account of the Martian invasion, as seen through the eyes of a London newspaper reporter. But if this was truly a war of the worlds, the Martian cylinders and tripods landed all across the Earth. What other accounts would have been written by the literary figures of the day? What did Jules Verne write about the Martians in Paris? What was Jack London’s account about the Martians in the Yukon, or Mark Twain’s experiences with the Martians on the Mississippi? Albert Einstein, Teddy Roosevelt, Rudyard Kipling,Henry James, H. Rider Haggard, Leo Tolstoy, H.P.

Writing a novel is just the first step. Brian Herbert and I spent the past year brainstorming, outlining, and writing MENTATS OF DUNE, the second novel in the “Schools of Dune” trilogy (following SISTERHOOD OF DUNE). We have finished the penultimate draft of the 173,000 word manuscript, it’s been accepted by the US and UK publishers, and I have one final round of minor editing changes to incorporate before it goes into full copy-editing and production. The novel is scheduled for release in March 2014.

Last month, Kensington Books ran a special for readers in US and Canada, DEATH WARMED OVER, the first Dan Shamble, Zombie PI novel, for a bargain-basement price of $2.99. Now, WordFire Press has done it one better for the rest of the world.

Before the publication of his masterpiece DUNE, Frank Herbert wrote four complete novels that were never released, as well as numerous short stories. WordFire Press has been working to bring these lost works into print. Next up is A GAME OF AUTHORS, previously unpublished—a Hemingway-esque thriller about an author held hostage in Mexico.

In anticipation of San Diego Comic Con later this month, HarperCollins has announced a special—my two DC novels, THE LAST DAYS OF KRYPTON and ENEMIES & ALLIES, along with Tracy Hickman’s novel WAYNE OF GOTHAM, will be discounted to only $2.99 for the entire month of July! Order the deep-discount for all eBook formats at http://sdccebookdeals.com.